Current Night Sky: March 2015

Daylight Saving Time begins at 2:00 am on Sunday, March 8, for most areas of the U.S. and Canada. In accordance with the adage, "spring forward, fall back," move your clocks ahead one hour; the minute after 1:59 AM begins as 3:00 AM.

There is a Total Solar Eclipse on March 20; the path of totality moves across the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans; outside of this zone, viewers in much of Europe will observe a partial solar eclipse. (See our "What's New" page.)

The March Equinox occurs at 6:45 pm EDT on March 20. This represents the instant the Sun crosses the celestial equator on its way north. By convention, it is considered the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere and of fall in the southern hemisphere.

The Moon & Planets:

Jupiter with three of its satellites. Nearest to the planet is Ganymede. To the right, two satellites – Io and Callisto – are passing within 3 arc-seconds of each other. (March 6, 2015, 12:50 am EST).

By mid-month, Comet Lovejoy will be making its way through Cassiopeia. (March 14, 2015, 1:15 am EDT).

The Moon and Venus pass within 3° of each other after sunset on the 22nd. The dark portion of the Moon is lit by earthshine – the reflection of sunlight from Earth's disk. (March 22, 2015 – 8:00 pm EDT).

Evening Planets (after sunset):

Uranus, W

Mars, W

Venus, W

Jupiter, SE

Morning Planets (before sunrise):

Saturn, S

Mercury, SE

Neptune, E

Comets:

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is fading more slowly than predicted, as it climbs higher into the Northern Hemisphere sky. It spends the month in Cassiopeia, and should fade to magnitude 6 or lower – below naked eye visibility - in early March. (See chart for its position at midmonth.)